


Beacon

by zipadeea



Series: At last I see the light [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Gen, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Keith and Lance's adventure to find purpose in the universe, M/M, Post voltron, and maybe something else happens along the way, and shiro adopts a baby because he obviously should be a dad, keith helps him, lance is depressed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-20 15:19:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17025105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zipadeea/pseuds/zipadeea
Summary: Life is great for Lance. He has his friends, he's back with his family, the war is over. He finally found his peace.He just never expected peace to be so...boring.***Lance's journey to finding happiness; because sometimes it takes your half-Galra friend making fun of you for planning a cow funeral and dragging you back up to the stars to realize you weren't really happy before.





	1. Goodbye Kaltenecker

**Author's Note:**

> Lance isn't a farmer. He will not be wasting his talents and long fought confidence like that. 
> 
> This story is my fix-it. 
> 
> Idk how many chapters it will be. Hope you enjoy the ride.

It’s three in the morning in Cuba when Lance presses the emergency call button.  

“I regret to inform you there has been a death in the family.” Lance says it solemnly, one perfect tear trailing down his cheek. The responses from the screen before him are to be expected.  

“No!” 

“Who?" 

“Oh, God, Lance, I’m so sorry. What happened?” 

“How?”  

Lance clears his throat, before brushing away the one perfect tear.  

“Our dearly beloved Kaltenecker has passed, to go graze in the great pastures of the Beyond.”  

Silence.  

“You’re shitting me.” Keith finally says.  

“Jesus, Lance, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” Shiro adds.  

Pidge looks ready to explode. “I gave you that fucking button to use in a fucking real emergency, not to wake me up at ass-oh-clock in the morning and tell me that stupid cow is finally dead. She was already like seventeen when we got her, she lived well beyond the normal lifespan of a cow.” 

“You monsters!” Lance rages, “Kaltenecker was family! Think of all the space milkshakes she made for us, the ice cream, the _butter_ \--,” 

“I’m lactose intolerant, Lance,” Keith deadpans.  

“Dude, are you really?” Hunk asks, “Jeez, why didn’t you say something sooner, I never accommodated your dietary needs in space, that must have _sucked--,”_  

 _“_ Stop getting off topic!” Lance shouts, “Our pet, our honest and true companion is _dead._  The funeral is next Friday, I expect all of you to attend.” 

“A funeral for a cow.” 

“Wow.” 

“Will there be steak?” Keith’s smirk is awful.  

“No! Completely vegetarian menu—well, I think so. Hunk, can you cater this?”  

“Actually--,” Shiro interrupts, looking sheepish. “I can’t make it on Friday. Curtis and I already have plans.” 

Lance gasps. “Plans more important than bidding farewell to the best, most loyal and wonderful cow in the known and unknown universe?”  

Shiro smiles. “Yeah. We, umm—we're flying to Altea. My brother works at the hospital there, and we’ve been in contact with Interplanetary Family Services, and Coran’s been helping us but—long story short, we’re adopting a baby.” 

Silence again.  

“Oh my GOD.” 

“Space Dad is gonna be an actual _dad_ \--,” 

“Boy or girl? Both, neither, oh my God, I’m so _happy-_ -,” 

“Wow,” Keith breathes out, wide smile on his face. “Wow.” 

“Thanks, guys. We—well, we were going to let it be a surprise, but now seems good a time as any to tell you, since we’re all here. She’s half Altean, half human. She was born with some heart problems, that’s how my brother got to know her, he was her surgeon. But she was abandoned and she needs a home and we—well, we’ve got a home, and a lot of love to give, so--,” 

“Yeah. Yeah that’s more important than a cow funeral.” Lance admits, and Shiro chuckles.  

“If you postpone it like three days, we can come, and bring along the baby for you all to meet.”  

Lance taps a finger on his lips. “Hmmm. I don’t know how long Kaltenecker’s body will hold, we don’t have a big enough freezer. Maybe I can find someone to embalm--,” 

“Oh, dear God, Lance, if you aren’t making steak, burn the fucking cow. We’ll scatter her ashes at that beach you like.” 

“That’s perfect! You’re a genius Keith! Alright, funeral’s on Tuesday, everybody _must_ come. What’s the baby’s name, Shiro? Nadia’s good at banners and stuff, she can make one for the party.” 

“We--,” Shiro’s voice grows quiet. “We decided to name her Allura.” 

“Well, that,” Lance begins, voice thick, “That’s about the most perfect name in the universe. I can’t wait to meet her.” 

000 

Kaltenecker’s funeral/Baby Allura’s welcome home party is a complete success, not that Lance expected anything less from a party he planned.  

Everybody shows up—all the Holts, all the Garretts, Lance’s entire family, even Veronica, back for just a few days. Keith drags Krolia and Kolivan along with him, Coran hitches a ride back to earth with Shiro and Curtis-- 

And of course, Allura is there, in name, if not in spirit.  

Baby Allura is beautiful. Her ears are rounded and human-looking, but the markings under her eyes are purple. She has a mop of golden curls on her head, and when she finally wakes up from her nap and sleepily looks around from the comfort of Shiro’s arms, her eyes are revealed to be a lovely green.  

Shiro looks happier than Lance has ever seen him, more joyful and—and at peace than even his wedding day. He never stops smiling, and neither does Curtis.  

At sunset, Lance forces everyone to trek with him out to the beach, where he reads his heartfelt, seven-page long eulogy to the greatest cow to ever exist, before making a show of scattering the ashes from the cow-spotted urn he’d had specially made for the occasion.  

Then, they all return to the house and eat the very delicious, very _vegetarian_ , meal Hunk made.  

“How are you, Lance?” Keith asks quietly beside him at dinner. They’re all outside on the big porch, sitting under the pretty lights Lance spent the afternoon painstakingly stringing up for the ambiance.  

“Umm, dude, I’m fantastic. Life is great. Same old, same old. No more troubles, no more worries, just me and the fam, growing things, making things, being happy. It’s super peaceful. Definitely needed it after—after everything. I’m, like, extra happy. You know. Yeah. Yeah. How are you?”  

Keith is looking at him oddly, purple eyes narrowed. “I’m fine. Things are going well with the Blade and the mission. We’re actually talking about changing our name as we officially transition completely to humanitarian aid.” He finally says.  

“Oh, that’s nice. Makes sense, I guess. You should probably retain some of the name, though, keep yourselves recognizable. Maybe you could just go by your initials, BOM...eh, that’s kind of weird. Oooh what if you just switched Blade to like, like—Beacon. Hey, that’s a good one. Beacon of Marmora, that way it’s like—like hope, but you still have the name.” 

Lance looks up to see Keith frowning.  

“What’s up? You don’t like it? You don’t have to use the name, it’s just an idea--,” 

“What are you doing, Lance?” 

His tone makes it plain that Keith is not just speaking of the immediate present. Lance chooses to misunderstand anyway.  

“Right now, I’m eating this outstanding meal made by Hunk. Tomorrow I’m supposed to go talk to some middle schoolers about the strength of teamwork and the power of friendship. I’m hoping to get myself put on some kind of babysitting roster for that sweet little baby and--,” 

“Lance. Lance, stop.”  

Lance stops. 

“You--I get that you needed some time off after—after everything. I understand needing to be with your family and decompressing. You needed to recover after all the shit we went through. I understand that, I really, really do.  

“But it’s been three years, Lance, and you—you seem so stuck. You seem _bored_ , Lance. You’re here, and you talk to school children and spend time with your family and work on your farm. And yeah, you did need that for a while, Lance, but I don’t think you do anymore. You just planned a fucking cow funeral. You—you need a purpose.” 

Lance feels his cheeks heat up, feels the sting of angry tears behind his eyes.  

“God, shut up. You’re cruel, you know that? You’re so cruel. You have no idea what I need, what my _family_ needs. I’ve seen enough. I’ve given _enough_ , I could sit on my ass for the rest of my life and not feel an ounce of guilt--,” 

“But you’re so _bored!”_ Keith is still whispering, keeping their conversation private at the long table, but it rings out like a scream in Lance’s ears. “You’re bored, Lance. Do you know, we’ve been talking about that name change for months. We’ve hired professional marketers on multiple planets to help us figure out the best course of action. We’ve spent money on this, Lance, and you just solved our problems, given us the best solution in literally _two seconds_. 

“You’re too smart to sit here, Lance. You’re too important. This is just a waste of talent.” 

Lance can’t speak for a second.  

“Oh yeah?” He asks snidely, “What do you think I should do, then? What work is best for a washed-up paladin?” 

“Come with me.” Keith says it calmly, acts like the answer is completely obvious.  

“W-what?”  

“Come with me back to the Blades—well, the Beacon now. Really, thanks for that, by the way, it’s perfect. Help me help other people, other planets.” 

“You can’t be serious.” 

“I’m completely serious. We’re always looking for new recruits. And we don’t expect any fighting, most of these planets are peaceful, just down on their luck, but it’s always good to have someone on hand who knows his way around a gun. You’d be a huge help, and I really think you’d enjoy the work we do.” 

Lance is silent.  

“Not everybody is the same,” Keith finally says, “But, I’ve found that for many people, the best and easiest way to help themselves is to help others. You finished with that?” Keith asks, indicating Lance’s nearly empty plate. Lance nods and hands the plate and cutlery to Keith, who stacks it on top of his own and heads inside to the kitchen.  

000 

That night, Lance sneaks out of the house and lays in the juniberry fields, staring up at the stars. They’re beautiful to look at from here.  

… 

… 

… 

They’re even more beautiful up close.  

 **To Keith** : I’m in.  

 _Sent 2:04 AM_  

 **From Keith** : Good.  

 _Sent 2:05 AM_  


	2. Adventure is out there

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So this is more filler kind of, but I feel like Lance is close to his mom, and this would be important to him. Anyway, I vaguely know where this story is going. I have ideas for an overall plot, and maybe over Christmas I'll plan more. 
> 
> That being said, I'm writing this for me because I didn't like how Lance's story ended, but for you guys too, who read it. And if you have ideas of things you'd like to see in this story, especially like individual missions for Keith and Lance with the Blade/Beacon and stuff, hmu in the comments. I'll take anything you say into consideration, but I'm making no promises that it'll happen. Just ideas. 
> 
> Anyway, yeah, thank you so much for the comments and kudos and for subscribing. You're all really nice :)

“You don’t understand, Keith. You’re an only child.” Lance implores, eyes wide as he looks away from the beach to Keith’s profile. His jawline looks sharp in the shadows of the sun. 

Keith rolls his eyes and flips his long ponytail behind his shoulder, taking a long drag from the coffee cup in his hand. “You’re being ridiculous, Lance--,”

“I’m _not,_ ” Lance tries to explain. “I’m the baby. I’m the annoying little shit everybody liked to coddle until my brother’s kids came along. I’m Mama’s favorite--,” Keith scoffs, but Lance continues, “and that was true even _before_ I came back from beyond the grave! I am literally her miracle child.”

“Lance, you’re completely overreacting.”

“My parents will be devastated that I’m leaving. They’re not going to let me go. They’ll probably lock me up in the basement—I mean, that’s not horrible, we have a fucking awesome basement, but it’s the principle of the thing, and--,”

“Lance.” Keith says his name quietly, finally turns his face to Lance, purple eyes bright. “If you don’t want to come, you don’t have to. It was just an idea. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love for you to join the Bl—Beacon. I wasn’t lying, you’d be a huge asset to us. But if you’re not ready for that, I understand.” 

Of them all, peace has changed Keith the most. Lance had worried for him, worried that the lack of adversary would leave Keith stagnant, make him bottle up his emotions and self-combust. Instead he just—adapted. In wartime, Keith ran on adrenaline and righteous anger. And in peace, the first peace of his life since childhood and his father’s death, Keith finally relaxes. 

It’s made him more thoughtful, Lance acknowledges, more empathetic. 

More observant. 

Lance swallows audibly and sucks in a long breath. “I want to go. I just—I worry about them. I don’t want my family to be sad. I don’t want to stress them any more than I already have.”

Keith bites his lip and sighs a little. “It won’t be like Voltron. It won’t even be like the Atlas. Our cruiser—we’re in constant contact with our offices on Earth and Altea and Diabazaal. Pidge designed our communications systems, you know that’s the best we could get; you can talk to your family whenever you like. And if—if you’re ever homesick, or something happens, or you just completely hate it after one day, we’ve got a whole lot of ships on board, Lance. I’m technically the captain, and you’ll always have my permission to just take one and go home.”

Lance can’t help but smile a bit at that. Then, he thinks about what Keith has just said, with the soft smile on his face, and how calmly and rationally and soothingly he’d explained it all and--

“You’re coming over for dinner.”

“Uh--okay?”

“You say all that, exactly all of that, the same way to my mom and dad, and they’ll probably maybe almost let me come along and you won’t have to sneak me out of the basement prison in the middle of the night.”

“Lance, you do realize you’re twenty-three years old, right?”

“Mama says I'll always be her baby.”

“You’re so weird.”

000

“Oh, thank _goodness_ ,” Mama says with a wide smile over dessert, hand on her heart. 

“We were beginning to think you’d never get out of here, kiddo,” Dad adds, grin on his face.

What. 

_What._

It’s Keith’s snort into his apple pie that finally does Lance in. 

“So, you—you're just _okay_ with me going back into the great unknown? You’ll send me shooting off into the vast nothingness all _alone_?”

“Not alone, sweetheart. You’ll be with Keith. Keith’s got a good head on his shoulders, don’t you, honey?” Mama asks, nodding in Keith’s direction. 

That horrible smirk is actually going to kill Lance. 

“Absolutely, Mrs. McClain.”

“Good head--,” Lance sputters, “You barely even _know_ Keith! He’s hardly been back on Earth since I came home!”

Dad shakes his head. “Your mother and Keith talk all the time. They’re pen pals.”

“Oh, not really pen pals—well, I suppose I did send you cookies. And then you sent me those pretty moon rocks from Io. And, of course, I sent you birthday cards Keith, and you sent back that special soil from Altea for the juniberry flowers and--,”

What the _fuck_?

“ _Alejandro McClain_!” and whoops, Lance did say it out loud. “You do not use such language under this roof, do you understand me?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Lance hopes the effort of keeping in the laughter breaks Keith’s ribs. “Sorry, Mama.”

Mama sniffs. “If you were younger, I’d get out the soap.”

“Did either of you plan on telling me you _adopted_ Keith?”

Keith finally can’t hold the laughter in anymore, and all tension in the room breaks. Mama smiles at him fondly, and Lance supposes if Keith can make his mother smile like that, he shouldn’t be mad. 

“He has a lovely mother already; Keith and I are just friends.”

Keith looks at him smugly. He wonders what on Earth Keith and his mother have been talking about the past three years. 

“This is weird.”

000

That night, Lance finds his mother out on the porch swing watching the fireflies with a hot mug of tea in her hands. He wordlessly takes the seat beside her and rests his head on her shoulder. 

“You’re really okay with this, Mama?” 

She sighs. 

“If I thought staying here, living with us and working on the farm would make you happy, I would never let you go. But you’re not happy, Lance.”

Lance sits up quickly and looks at his mother. 

“Mama, that’s not--,”

“Baby, I’m your mother. I will always know when you’re lying. Even when the one you’re lying to is yourself.” Mama rests a hand on his cheek and smiles sadly as he leans into the touch. 

“I think this will be good for you. And you’ll be helping so many people, Lance. Helping others has always brought you joy, given you a sense of purpose.”

Lance digs his head back into Mama’s shoulder. “That’s basically what Keith said.” 

Mama laughs. 

“How the heck did the two of you become _pen pals?_ ”

Mama hums and strokes his hair. “You weren’t very good about communicating with your friends those first few months after you came home, honey. They worried. I think Keith felt guilty because he went with his mother to Diabazaal, and when you wouldn’t talk, he just...”

“Oh.”

Mama hums again. “It doesn’t have to be forever, Lance, but you do need to get away. You used to love the stars, used to love to fly. All you wanted was adventure.”

“Yeah. And I got it.” Lance snarks. Mama stops stroking his hair. 

“You’re twenty-three years old, kiddo. You’d be a fool to think your adventure is anywhere near over. It’s barely just begun.”

000

Two weeks later, Lance joins Keith on the shuttle back to the Beacon flagship. Lance’s whole family gathers to see them off. There are lots of hugs and tears and laughs, and promises of calls every day that will probably be broken but must be made. 

There are even more hugs and tear and laughs when Lance arrives at the airfield to find their best friends waiting for them. 

Hunk gives them cookies. Pidge gives Keith and Lance tricked out watches that sync to one another (”I’ve attached the Voltron emergency call button here. If you use it for another cow funeral, I will make this thing self-destruct.”) Shiro comes along with Curtis, and baby Allura strapped to his chest. 

(“I still can’t believe Space Dad is a real dad.” 

“You’re like, the picture of the perfect family. If you googled the most beautiful family in the world, a picture of you guys would actually honestly show up.”)

Lance gives Shiro a slightly awkward side-hug to avoid squashing the baby. 

“Bye, kiddo,” Shiro whispers, before ruffling his hair. “Keep an eye on him for me out there, will you?” He asks, nodding his head toward Keith, who is too busy geek-ing out with Pidge and Hunk over his new watch to notice. 

“Course I will.” Shiro grins. Lance leans down finally and plants a kiss in the middle of baby Allura’s messy gold curls. 

“Bye-bye, sweetie pie,” Lance says softly. Allura makes smacking noises with her lips and looks up. Lance laughs. 

“Lulu,” Shiro says. “We like to call her Lulu.”

Lance grins ruefully. “I’m that obvious about it, am I?” 

Shiro shakes his head. “It was harder for me than I expected, too. Curtis came up with Lulu. We think it’s cute.”

“It’s adorable. Bye-bye, Lulu! Uncle Lance loves you!”

Drool dribbles out of Lulu’s open mouth, and she smacks her lips again. It’s fucking adorable. 

Eventually, the goodbyes are over. The last hugs are given, the last kisses blown to each other, until Lance and Keith walk up the shuttle’s ramp together and enter the cockpit. 

Lance takes a seat and straps himself in, before taking a deep breath and looking up. Keith’s at the controls. 

“You ready for this?” 

“Yeah.”

Lance is surprised when he realizes that he means it. He’s ready for a new adventure. 


End file.
